Want to buy abutting property...how to approach owner?
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Ha! I tried this once.
Piece of land was for sale for like years, no bites so they pulled the listing.
It had been off market for a long time so I just tossed out the “hey, you still interested in selling that property?”. He was. But now, all of a sudden, it’s this valuable worth it’s weight in gold property again(in this clown’s mind). So yeah he put some ridiculous number on it and I was like yeah, no thanks. Now I know why it didn’t and probably wont ever sell. Owner is a delusional bonehead, and a bit of a jerk.
Moral of the story? It’s always worth a try.
The owner is a delusional bonehead and a bit of a jerk because he did not sell to you at what you wanted to pay?
The owner is a delusional bonehead and a bit of a jerk because he did not sell to you at what you wanted to pay?
No. He is unrealistic with his asking price.
I am realistic and not normally a haggler unless there is due cause for it.
I only look at stuff that I would be willing to pay full asking price(worst case) because I don’t want to be “that guy”. I know how it is, I don’t like to be haggled or low-balled.
There is a reason this property sat stale for so long, and still has not sold.
Another question if I may...the assessor also told me what the town assessed the lot at. Is that a fair price to offer? Obviously they have the upper hand and could want more. My advantage is that it's unbuildable (without a variance) and they could be stuck with a lot they can't really use and have to pay taxes on, but we're willing to take it off their hands. I can't really find other unbuildable lots for sale in town so it's hard to know what a reasonable offer would be.
Whatever you think is reasonable, be prepared to double it.
Read Hotkarl's post. The same thing is likely to happen when you approach the owner.
There's a parcel of land behind our house that's owned by a family and we'd like to reach out to them to see if they'd be interested in selling it to us. We suspect they're going to try to build a house out there and we'd really rather not have a house right behind ours.
It's technically an unbuildable lot because it lacks the minimum frontage required by the town, however they also own another abutting parcel and I'm thinking they may try to go in that way but I don't believe that lot has the frontage either. They have a third abutting lot to the second one but that has a small warehouse on it so they can't access it that way (I don't think).
Years ago the then-owner also tried to build but it failed the perc test. It's bordered by a small river and very wet.
We'd like to reach out to the family to see if they'd be interested in selling the lot behind ours to us since it's unbuildable (unless they're granted a variance by the town) and not worth $$. We'd rather own it to ensure that we don't have to keep worrying about someone trying to build on it, so do we reach out directly or is it best to have an agent do it for us?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Makolly
Yes, they're in a neighboring town. I reached out to the assessor who provided me with their name and address so I'll be contacting them soon.
Another question if I may...the assessor also told me what the town assessed the lot at. Is that a fair price to offer? Obviously they have the upper hand and could want more. My advantage is that it's unbuildable (without a variance) and they could be stuck with a lot they can't really use and have to pay taxes on, but we're willing to take it off their hands. I can't really find other unbuildable lots for sale in town so it's hard to know what a reasonable offer would be.
A plat map would be greatly helpful.
I cannot tell from your posts and description if you are interested in a lot that connects the owner's other lots, so if sold, they would no longer be contiguous.
If so, you have huge strikes against you for purchasing.
Anyway, if I wanted to proceed, I would NOT feed the owner all the concerns you have to put thoughts in their heads.
I would simply contact them and ask, "Would you consider selling this lot?"
See how they respond before you offer more, or offer money.
The assessor's valuation is not relevant. It only lets you calculate the tax bill you would have. Regardless, I wouldn't bring up price at the first conversation.
I know that with landlocked, or unable to obtain required right of way, land can only be developed by adjoining land owners if they buy it from the prior owner.
Back in the late 80's my family did this successfully as there were only 2 possible buyers for a particular piece of property that adjoined our property and one neighbor's property. It was 100% landlocked with no accessible right of way to the main road. Long and short, both my family and the neighbor negotiated a land swap that ultimately benefited both.
The OP should be able to go to the county or city property appraiser to determine who owns the property currently and their name/address should be clearly identified (with some rare exceptions with local laws/ordinances that do not provide this).
What are the chances that Florida and Massachusetts real estate law is different?
What are the chances that Florida and Massachusetts real estate law is different?
I am not a lawyer and I don't play one on television. I won't speculate either way. For instance, Florida residents don't pay state income tax and many states do. I don't assume such things without knowing for certain.
I know that with landlocked, or unable to obtain required right of way, land can only be developed by adjoining land owners if they buy it from the prior owner.....
Ummm, wouldn't all land owners have bought their land from the prior owner? Even if you were homesteading in 1870, the prior owner was the US Government.
Lived next to a pair of empty lots for decades. They would be worth 700K+ today. Owner lived in a very blue collar area about an hour away and would show up 3-4 times a year to mow the lots with an old riding lawnmower. Looked like something he bought at a garage sale for $50.
My buddy was a builder and was trying to buy them for years. Tried all sorts of angles, like give me the corner one and I'll build you a 3 bedroom house on the other one. Guy always said, they weren't for sale and felt his sons were going to build houses for themselves there. My buddy said the kids were like gas station clerks and no way were they ever going to build anything. So he paid $3500 for the 2 lots in 1965, sold one in 1997 for 85K and then in 2015 sold the other one for 350K. He made pretty good money for 50 yrs of taxes and mowing.
Time worked out for the guy, he was old when I lived there so in 2015 he had to have been really old/ almost too old to enjoy the 350K!
Moral of the story: Eventually everything will sell no matter what the sellers say today!
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